Nikole Day Pack

Back when I got my D40 this spring, I also purchased a Crumpler 4 Million Dollar Home to use with it. I wasn’t thrilled with it, but it seemed like it would work out pretty well. Except that it didn’t.

After spending a few months using it in various situations (going out just to take photos, taking my camera on trips, taking it out and about to city events) I came to the conclusion that it’s just too small. As I mentioned in the link above, it’s extremely well-padded, which is great, except that it makes the pockets difficult to get into and out of. And I have also found that there’s just not quite enough room in the bag (especially if I am not just going out with the sole purpose of taking photos). Lastly, the messenger-style of it was pulling on my shoulder and digging into my neck in a rather uncomfortable fashion. So, as it turned out the Crumpler bag was not a good choice for me.

Before some trip I took this spring, I wound up purchasing a neoprene case for the camera. Once I had that, I found that most of the time I was just putting the camera in that case and then tossing it in a totebag with the rest of my junk. This was working pretty well, but a tote bag gets in the way of shooting unless you set it down. And the city girl in me will only set down a bag and wander away from it in very particular circumstances. So, I had in the back of my head that I wanted to keep an eye out for something else. When Chez Shoes posted about the Nikole Day Pack, a lightbulb went off. She helpfully (librarians! so helpful!) answered a couple of questions for me, and I immediately placed an order for one.

I’ve only used it twice, but so far I’m quite happy with it. It’s roomy enough to fit my camera (in the neoprene case), second lens, and a bunch of other stuff, but it’s not huge. It has several handy organizer pockets in the main compartment, and a couple in the smaller front compartment. It also fits my MacBook (though it’s a tight fit — with a laptop sleeve, it won’t zip) and has a neat side pocket for a water bottle. And since it’s backpack style, it doesn’t go flying around when I move to take photos. I think this will be a great bag to take around with me on local photo safaris or day trip adventures. It will also make a good – bag, especially if I can fit my laptop and camera in there at the same time, as I’m pretty sure it will count as a Personal Item-type bag.

Anyway, if you are looking around for a day-trip bag or a non-camera-bag camera bag, I’d recommend taking a look at this.

Also, if you’re in the market for a Crumpler 4 Million Dollar Home, let me know as mine will be hitting Craigslist as soon as I can remember to take some photos of it to post.